Wireless mesh networks are gaining popularity because wireless infrastructures are typically easier and less expensive to deploy than wired networks. The wireless mesh networks typically include wired gateways that are wirelessly connected to wireless nodes, or wirelessly connected directly to client devices. Many wireless nodes can collectively provide a wireless mesh, in which client devices can associate with any of the wireless nodes.
Routing paths can be selected between the nodes of the mesh network according to one or more of many possible routing selection procedures. The routing paths provide a path for data flow between a client device associated with the wireless mesh network and a gateway of the mesh network. The gateway can be wire-connected to a wired network which is connected, for example, to the Internet. Due to the possibility of changing locations of the wireless nodes, and due to the typically changing link qualities of wireless connections, the best quality routing path available can vary with time.
Due to the environmental conditions that wireless mesh networks are subject to, and the possibility of changing node locations, the wireless links between the wireless nodes of wireless mesh networks are susceptible to being excessively long. Excessively long links can cause excessive latency of data propagating through the links.
It is desirable to have a method and apparatus for operating wireless networks that can include long wireless links.